354 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Oct., '17 



Life History of the Northern Microvelia Microvelia 



borealis Bueno (Hem., Het,). 

 By J. R. DE LA TORRE BUENO, New York City. 



(Plate XXV.) 



Every miniature Sargasso sea of matted algae floating their 

 green meshes on still pools, every field of duck- weed in mill 

 ponds, affords shelter to a myriad forms, to a teeming busy 

 population, some preyed upon, others predators. Swarming 

 over these moist fields one finds a series of water-bugs Acan- 

 thias, Mesovelias, Naeogeids, Veliids. One species of the last- 

 named family is perhaps the most abundant of all. 



For many years this little Microvelia masqueraded in our 

 catalogues and lists as Microvelia pulchella of Westwood, 

 which was described originally from St. Vincent's. At last it 

 became possible to fix its status definitely and it was described 

 as new in 1916 under the name borealis. 1 The paper in which 

 it was described cleared up the synonymy and distribution of 

 this group of atoms and fixed the name of the present species 



thus : 



Microvelia borealis Bueno 



=pulchclla Uhl.?, Bueno, Heid., Van D., nee 



Westwood. 



= boreale Bueno, in various lists. 

 =marginata Kirk. & Bueno, nee Uhl. 



Probably owing to not having seen the paper in question, 

 the synonymy of our Eastern species in Van Duzee's new 

 Check List leaves much to be desired. 



Microvelia borealis has a limited range, so far as known 

 to me, doubtless because little collected. I have taken it in this 

 State and New Jersey, and Parshley has got it from Maine. 

 It must be very widely distributed, but being so small it is un- 

 noticed, or else taken for an immature bug on account of its 

 generally apterous condition and small size. 



Microvelia borealis awakes from its winter sleep some time 

 in the spring, how early I am unable to say, as T have never 

 taken it before May, when it begins to populate the watery 



1 Bueno, Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc. XI : 57. 



